We have often broadcast valuable information we have found on the “OnGuardOnline” blog organized by the Federal Trade Commission–the government agency charged with, among other things, consumer protection including the pitfalls of identity theft.

Recently, the blog encouraged readers to remember the FTC has many a resource in brochure form and other types of resources to facilitate identity theft education. The best part is IT’S FREE!!! The idea is to create an army of citizen soldiers armed with valuable information. When one person is informed with how to avoid the pitfalls of identity theft, we are protected better on a national level. This is an expensive problem for our country at large. The FTC has brochures on ID Theft protection, online safety handouts; bookmarks about charity fraud and more. The new and better bulk order site is your gateway to almost 200 free publications for consumers and businesses.

The site helps you tailor your search to the audience, topic, type of material and language that matter to you. And you can choose the quantity you need. Not only are the resources free–so is the shipping!

You can:

Sort by audience to find material that suits your crowd; we have items for consumers, parents and teachers, consumer advocates and business people.

Sort to see what’s available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and other languages. All items are described in English, so you can order even if you don’t speak another language.

Search for publications in nine topic categories ranging from Scams to Health to Homes & Mortgages.

Sort the contents by campaign to view all of the materials related to FTC campaigns like Pass It On, Identity Theft or Immigration.

Inspired? Visit ftc.gov/bulkorder and order up to date, easy to use information.

Another great resource for identity theft protection is www.hvshred.com

Identity theft scammers are, above all, opportunistic. With Halloween on the horizon, a Halloween scam was sure to be close by. Believe it or not, Halloween is the second most consumer driven holiday, nipping on the heels of Christmas in terms of how much money is spent each year. Experts say real nightmare scams can occur if shoppers aren’t careful.

The focus of these scams are the pop-up Halloween online stores, the here today, gone tomorrow costumers that show up on the Internet each October.

Local authorities receive countless complaints each year regarding these fly-by-night operations, committing to sending you your costume overnight. The majority of the complaints center on websites not delivering merchandise in a timely manner, if at all. The storefront operations most cited complaints were of the poor quality of merchandise and the difficulty of obtaining refunds.

The best defense is to keep your guard up. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is.

Not to mention, at HV Shred we are big proponents of “Think Local First”; please consider doing your shopping up close and personal with local mom and pops in your neighborhood. You’ll have much safer experience and likely feel good about the purchase as well since it will be supporting your local economy.

For more on identity theft best practices, please visit www.hvshred.com

It’s good to review the basics every now and again. This week’s blog focuses on the elements of the Disposal Rule as defined by the FTC–the government agency charged with overseeing identity theft protection.

The Disposal Rule requires disposal practices that are reasonable and appropriate to prevent the unauthorized access to – or use of – information in a consumer report. For example, reasonable measures for disposing of consumer report information could include establishing and complying with policies to:

(1) Burn, pulverize, or shred papers containing consumer report information so that the information cannot be read or reconstructed;
(2) Destroy or erase electronic files or media containing consumer report information so that the information cannot be read or reconstructed;
(3) Conduct due diligence and hire a document destruction contractor to dispose of material specifically identified as consumer report information consistent with the Rule. Due diligence could include:
a. Reviewing an independent audit of a disposal company’s operations and/or its compliance with the Rule;
b. Obtaining information about the disposal company from several references;
c. Requiring that the disposal company be certified by a recognized trade association;
d. Reviewing and evaluating the disposal company’s information security policies or procedures.

The FTC says that financial institutions that are subject to both the Disposal Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Safeguards Rule should incorporate practices dealing with the proper disposal of consumer information into the information security program that the Safeguards Rule requires (ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/safeguards.html).

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which was enacted in 2003, directed the FTC, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt comparable and consistent rules regarding the disposal of sensitive consumer report information. The FTC’s Disposal Rule became effective June 1, 2005. It was published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2004 [69 Fed. Reg. 68,690], and is available at ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041118disposalfrn.pdf.

On site shredding service is a powerful way to comply. For more information, please visit www.hvshred.com

This week we provide a brief overview of a few items to be sure you are securely disposing. Of course, we recommend shredding as the most secure and environmentally friendly (we recycle!) method.

1. Financial Records

Any form of financial records or documents need to be shredded. This is not limited to your clients, but also business financials should be cut finely. If portions of banking information appear on forms, these items also need to be disposed of with care.

2. Social Security Numbers

Paperwork that has an employee’s or customer’s social security number listed needs to be put through a shredder. Make a note of all documents that ask for that information so you can be sure none are missed when it is time to dispose of them.

3. Photo ID’s

If your business has to make copies of photo ID’s, then those copies should be destroyed when they are no longer needed. The vital information on an ID does not need to fall in the wrong hands. This is a good rule of thumb for employee’s files as well.

4. Voided Checks

Even though a check has the words VOID written across, does not mean they are safe to throw in the garbage. Important bank information is listed on the check as well as names, addresses, phone numbers, and sometimes social security numbers.

5. Offers For Credit Cards

Businesses are not exempt from piles of junk mail. Credit card companies mail out those pesky forms without your consent. These offers should always be placed through a shredder to keep yourself from falling victim to fraud.

6. Insurance Policy Information

All insurance policy information should be disposed of in the proper manner. If you have sections on forms that ask for insurance information, those documents need to be handled properly.

7. Contracts

Contracts hold a wealth of information that you don’t want the wrong person to get ahold of. They typically have social security numbers, financials, addresses, and plenty of other personal information.

Any document that has private information listed should be put in the pile to go to the shredder. It is always a good idea to shred paperwork if you are unsure if it is necessary. You are better off destroying information that could have been thrown in the trash, than to breach confidentiality agreements.

If you have any questions about this article please contact us today! hvshred.com

Once again tapping into a favorite resource this week’s blog shares a recent article posted on the Onguardonline.gov website. The article by Carol Kando-Pineda, Counsel, Division of Consumer and Business Education, focuses on mobile technologies.

Kando-Pineda asks: “Have you ever snagged a great deal right from your tablet? Or maybe you’ve donated to a charity from your phone?” She goes on to point out adopters of these opportunities will know first-hand that mobile technologies give us unprecedented efficiency and convenience. The FTC is addressing the issues that affect consumers as new mobile technologies come on the scene. The Commission has sued companies that have broken the law, held workshops about mobile commerce, and issued several reports documenting the state of mobile privacy, security, and consumer protection.
The FTC and its sister government agency, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, put out a call to learn more about financial services and mobile technology, especially as used by undeserved consumers. Among the highlights about the challenges consumers face when using mobile financial services:

Liability. Mobile transactions involving prepaid or stored value accounts might not give consumers the same liability protections they expect from other transactions. The FTC’s mobile payments workshop and its follow-up reports stressed the importance of giving consumers clear information about resolving disputes and their liability for unauthorized charges. The reports noted that people who don’t use traditional banks are heavy users of mobile financial products.

Cramming. Mobile billing – being able to charge a payment directly to your mobile phone account – can be very helpful for consumers, especially those who don’t use credit cards. But fraud has become a problem. Unauthorized charges can be crammed onto bills.

Privacy and security. Mobile technology can make a financial transaction more secure, but not all companies take advantage of that enhanced security. Mobile technologies also can raise unique privacy concerns because many companies are involved in the mobile payment ecosystem and they collect a lot of data. The FTC has surveyed the practices of data brokers that buy and sell consumer data and has taken legal actions against mobile apps for misstating how they collected and used consumer data.

As always, the best advice is to be vigilant.
For more resources on identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com